U-shaped Discussion

This support material is incorporated into critical challenges at grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, however, it can be adapted for use at all grade levels.

The U-shaped Discussion strategy offers an alternative to the
traditional two-sided debate. Instead of an adversarial debating format, this
strategy encourages students to see the merits of all sides and to recast
binary options as positions along a continuum. The goal is to encourage
students to endorse positions provisionally while listening to others in an
attempt to figure out the most defensible personal stance along a continuum of
possibilities. Stress that students are not to try to convince others, but
merely to explain why the position they are sitting in is the most defensible
one for them. There is no need to reach consensus on the issue.

Approach A:

arrange the class in a U-shape

ask students with polar views (i.e., either strongly agreeing or strongly
disagreeing with the proposition) to seat themselves at either tip of the U;
ask students with mixed opinions to sit at appropriate spots along the rounded
part

ask students at each tip of the U to state their position and offer a few
reasons only (if there is an imbalance in strong support for one side or the
other, locate yourself temporarily in a polar position to get the discussion
going)

alternate from side to side, as students from all parts of the U offer their
views

encourage students to physically move along the spectrum if they have heard
reasons that cause them to want to shift their intellectual position on the
issue.

Approach B:

invite students to individually decide which of three answers best represents
their thinking: No, Yes or Maybe

ask the Maybe group to stand in line across the front of the class and invite
several spokespersons to explain their reasoning; when they are done, ask if
any students in the audience have changed their mind and, if so, invite them to
join the Maybe group

ask the No students to form a line along the side of the classroom
perpendicular to the Maybe group and invite a few spokespersons to present
their reasons; when they are done, ask if any students have changed their mind
and invite them to join one of the groups

ask the Yes students to line up on the other side of the classroom facing the
No side (the three lines should form a U shape) and invite several
spokespersons to present their reasons; when they are done, ask if any students
have changed their mind and invite them to join one of the groups

encourage students who are in the Yes or No line to move closer to the Maybe
line, if they are so inclined; conversely, invite students in the Maybe line to
move to one end or the other, if they are attracted to that position

invite further discussion, encouraging students to change their minds when they
hear reasons that cause them to question their current position.